Vanja Kaludjercic: Last News

Actress-producer Cate Blanchett spoke about how the newly-announced Displacement Film Fund will support displaced filmmakers and those working on stories about displaced people at a panel held at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on Saturday.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Soheila Golestani, the Iranian actor who stars in Mohammad Rasoulof’s Oscar-nominated drama “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” has been banned from leaving Iran to serve on the Tiger Competition jury at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam. Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic spoke against the travel ban on Friday, saying the festival team is “saddened but not surprised” that the actor has been forbidden from leaving Iran.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) got underway on Thursday evening with Dutch director Michiel ten Horn’s gender-blending, crime caper Fabula.

Rotterdam Film Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic has spoken out against the travel ban preventing The Seed of the Sacred Fig actress Soheila Golestani from leaving Iran to serve on this year’s jury.

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) opened on Thursday night with Dutch film Fabula at the Oude Luxor Theater, in front of more than 800 guests.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Now in their second year working together within the dual leadership structure of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and managing director Clare Stewart are confidently looking into the future. The duo is heading into the festival’s 54th edition, taking place between Jan.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International Film Festival Rotterdam has unveiled the first tranche of films selected for its 54th edition, which runs Jan. 30 – Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed Marten Rabarts to the position of head of IFFR Pro, its market strand, effective immediately. Recently, Rabarts served as festival director at the New Zealand International Film Festival. His extensive global career also has significant legacy in the Netherlands, both as head of EYE International (now SeeNL) – where he was responsible for the promotion of Dutch film and film culture worldwide for four years and as artistic director of the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam for 12 years.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) opens this evening with New Zealand director Jonathan Olgilvie’s coming-of-age tale Head South set against the late 1970s, post-punk music culture of his home city of Christchurch.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, taking place between Jan. 25 – Feb.

International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy “Head South” will open the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Jan. 25, with the festival running until Feb. 4.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has appointed Clare Stewart to the post of Managing Director, taking over from outgoing Managing Director Marjan van der Haar.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The European Work in Progress Cologne (EWIP), an annual film industry event taking place in Germany, has unveiled the lineup of its 5th edition which will showcase 28 projects selected out of 150 submissions. The event, set to take place Oct. 17-19 in the run up to the Cologne Film Festival, will hand out approximately €60,000 worth of funding and will introduce a new prize, the EWIP TorinoFilmLab Audience Design Award. All projects will be presented in a 15-minute pitching session to EWIP guests and an international jury. This year’s jury will include Olivier Barbier, head of acquisitions at mk2 films; Vanja Kaludjercic, director of the Rotterdam festival (IDFA); Julien Rejl, Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight’s new artistic director; Saralisa Volm, a filmmaker and actress; and Thanassis Karathanos, producer at Twenty Twenty Vision.

Marta Balaga German director Lukas Nathrath has already lined up his next projects, Variety has found out. Following ensemble drama “One Last Evening,” which nabbed him Locarno Film Festival’s Cinegrell First Look Award consisting of post-production service worth €50,000, he will turn to “Bourgeois Paranoia” next.A mixture of dark comedy and psychological thriller, it will be set in the near future, when rents have become unaffordable and the roommate selection process goes off the rails.

Lukas Nathrath’s One Last Evening Wins Locarno Pro’s First Look Prize

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFilms from Maze Pictures, producer of Colin Firth-starrer “The Happy Prince,” and from Basis Berlin, behind Oscar-nominated doc feature “Of Father and Sons,” figure among the six pix in post to be highlighted at Locarno’s First Look on German Cinema, which is shaping up as one of the festival’s industry highlights.Maze and Basis Berlin will unveil what look on paper like the section’s biggest commercial plays: Drug scene drama “Three Lives Long” and Iran-set social thriller “Empty Nets.”First Look’s most classic art house play may be Milena Aboyan’s “Elaha,” a Kurd bride-to-be emancipation drama set in contemporary Germany.Two other titles have more of an indie tenor: Pan-Europe road movie “Arthur & Diana” and farewell dinner dramedy “One Last Evening.” “Life is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning” weighs in as an arch film essay from queer feminist activist Julia Fuhr.Five of the six works in progress are first features, making the First Look on German Cinema an effective new talent showcase. The directors, however, are not all totally German, three being born outside Germany – a sign of the welcome larger inclusivity and pulling power of today’s German film industry.Selected projects, none with a sales agent attached, will be awarded by a jury of major festival directors made up of Vanja Kaludjercic (International Film Festival Rotterdam), Tricia Tuttle (BFI London Film Festival) and HUH Moonyung (Busan International Film Festival).Awards take in the Cinegrell First Look Award, which consists of services towards the completion of films in post-production up to the value of €50,000 ($51,000). A brief drill-down on titles:“Arthur & Diana,” (Dir: Sara Summa.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter going virtual for two consecutive years due to the pandemic, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) festival is planning to reduce its core team by 15%. The new team, which will be announced in May during the Cannes Film Festival, will work across five divisions, content, communication and audience reach, funding and business growth, business affairs and operations.Once again be spearheaded by festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and managing director Marjan van der Haar, Rotterdam is also aiming to return as a physical event for its 52nd edition which will take place Jan.

Marta Balaga Presenting two films at Rotterdam Film Festival this year, his sixth feature as a director “Hold Me Tight” and musical comedy “Tralala” by his regular collaborators Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, Mathieu Amalric admitted he found it hard to shake off the role of a singer-songwriter in search of the Virgin Mary.“It might have been the first time I didn’t want to leave my character. I didn’t cut my hair for a long time, I kept my beard. I was like [a cross between] Jesus and Jim Morrison.

Marta Balaga Forced online once again – this time due to the Omicron wave – International Film Festival Rotterdam is still going to surprise the audience, assures festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, ready to celebrate its 51st edition. The event will open with Amanda Kramer’s “Please Baby Please” on Jan. 26.“That’s the idea.

This year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 14 films selected for its flagship Tiger Competition. Scroll down for the full list.